Chad: The Ennedi tells the Sahara's ancient story

DW (English)

The Sahara once teemed with lakes and wildlife. In Chad's Ennedi, rock art offers clues — and warnings — as climate change reshapes the hottest desert.

Transcript

00:00As incredible as it may seem, the Sahara was not always the arid desert we know today,

00:10but a lush, green land teeming with wildlife.

00:14Traced by our ancestors thousands of years ago in northern Chad,

00:18these ancient paintings testify that the green Sahara is no legend.

00:24At one point in history, the environment here was green.

00:34There was enough food for livestock.

00:39These are animals that really existed, domesticated by prehistoric people,

00:45when the climate was favorable to their breeding.

00:47Later, when the climate shifted and became arid, humans adapted and introduced the camel.

01:03Mohamed Ahmadoumah is a young Chadian scientist trying to piece that world back together

01:08through rock art and fossil remains found on site.

01:13If we take the example of hippos or other aquatic animals,

01:22we can imagine this space was once marked by lakes and rivers.

01:32This vanished landscape that existed between 5,000 and 11,000 years ago

01:37is well known to scientists such as paleoclimatologist Florence Sylvestre.

01:44During this Holocene period, the Earth's orbit created conditions for a stronger summer insulation.

01:54The planet was closer to the sun during summer,

01:57with a larger part of the northern hemisphere exposed,

02:00which led to intense continental warming and higher oceanic evaporation.

02:08There were perfect conditions for abundant water in what we know today as the Sahara.

02:18Across the millennia, the Sahara withered into the world's largest hot desert.

02:24Wildlife disappeared, and human communities had no choice but to migrate or adapt to survive.

02:33These lessons resonate strongly with communities,

02:37such as the people from Arche,

02:39who are already feeling the impact of climate change reshaping the Sahara once again.

02:45Climatologists predict rainfall in the region could rise by 30 percent by 2050.

02:51I've never seen rains like last year's.

02:56Houses were destroyed, some of our livestock was swept away,

02:59and even human lives were lost.

03:02The damage was incalculable.

03:04This is unprecedented.

03:05We're worried by the consequences of climate change on our lives.

03:09But in another sense, it also brought benefits for us herders.

03:13The rains grew fresh grass for our animals.

03:15So maybe we'll be able to live better in the future.

03:18The increased rainfall is not only a mixed blessing for the region's inhabitants.

03:28It could be also an existential threat to the prehistoric artworks of Ennady.

03:34Mohamed is monitoring that threat with the head of French archaeologist Frédéric Duquenois.

03:40We had documented the site in early August last year, before the heavy rains.

03:51Now we want to see where the runoff occurred and what kind of damage it may have caused.

03:58We also understand it is a blessing for the people living here today,

04:02because more humidity would make life less harsh.

04:05For now, the only solution is to document the paintings,

04:12while they are still visible and intact,

04:15to preserve at least a trace of this heritage,

04:19so it can be studied even if one day it disappears.

04:26Fortunately, the latest rains spared the paintings.

04:30Right now, the main danger isn't climate.

04:37It's people.

04:42Some use caves for storage.

04:46Others draw graffiti on the paintings out of ignorance.

04:53These behaviors are what truly concern us.

04:56Arche is one of the most famous tourist sites in Ennady,

05:05and also one of the most exposed to human damage.

05:13These graffiti are part of the destruction of our rock art.

05:17People don't understand the value of this heritage.

05:27They tear apart a material proof of our history and culture.

05:32It hurts me deeply to see this.

05:33And that's the reason why Mohamed regularly visits villages,

05:41to speak with locals,

05:43raise awareness,

05:44and encourage them to protect this legacy.

05:49For now, we can't fence off the rock art sites

05:53within the natural and cultural reserve of Ennady.

05:56So our current strategy is to raise awareness among local communities,

06:02to make them understand the importance of this heritage.

06:08Because it belongs to them,

06:10and to humanity as a whole.

06:13Protecting it is crucial.

06:17Mohamed has assembled an archaeological team

06:20to precisely date the paintings.

06:22This mission, financed by NGO African Parks,

06:26is another crucial step to safeguard this heritage

06:29and share it with the world.

06:32This is the first time I've led such a team,

06:36and the first time multidisciplinary excavations

06:39are being carried out in the Ennady Natural and Cultural Reserve.

06:43I feel proud and emotional

06:51and responsible for guiding this mission,

06:54with the hope of finding clues

06:57that can shed light on the rock paintings of Ennady.

07:03The results of this research,

07:06Mohamed Ahmad Omar hopes,

07:08will raise awareness of how our ancestors

07:11adapted to climate change

07:12and what lessons we can draw for the future.

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